


What Disasters May Come

by wintersyzygy



Series: KnB AU Collection [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aomine has a potty mouth, Apocalypse, Canon characters having to adapt, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, GoM-Centric, Listed possible future pairings, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-05-01 06:56:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5196491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintersyzygy/pseuds/wintersyzygy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one expects an apocalypse. It comes anyway, and they will all just have to do their best to survive.</p><p>(Or: The one in which Midorima and Murasakibara suffer from withdrawal, Aomine and Akashi try to protect, Kise and Kuroko are just taking each day as it comes - and all of them are just trying to find their place in a world where basketball and everything else they previously knew don't quite matter anymore.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Whatever it may be

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally meant to be a one-shot, or maybe just a short collection of drabbles set in the same universe. But the plot bunnies just kept coming and so this has officially become a multi-chap. I admit that the multiple perspectives thing I’m going for might be somewhat confusing, timeline-wise, and I’ve never written something like this. I hope you enjoy reading this anyway! 
> 
> Also: this fic is mostly general and not quite ship-centric, although there are some moments. But most of their interactions can probably be taken as either friendship or pre-slash.

_“I apologise, Akashi-kun. I was just thinking how the last time we all gathered together was in much happier circumstances than this.”_

~~~

1A.

The first thing Kuroko noticed was that it was dark, even though the digits blinking at him from his watch insisted it was three in the afternoon. Dust and debris swirled about in the air, and all he smelt was smoke.

…Smoke? 

_Where was he?_

His head was pounding, and his limbs felt heavy and sluggish. He squeezed his eyes back shut, trying to ignore the ache. He thought he heard some voices nearby, but he felt too dizzy to try and figure out whose they were. It was as if something had knocked the breath right out of him – not an unfamiliar feeling, but Kuroko was quite sure he hadn’t been running laps or participating in any other form of stamina training. Anyway, what kind of training would have left him half-sprawled on the ground, one arm crushed beneath his body, the other in front of his head, and his legs twisted in an awkward angle from his body?

He tried to adjust himself.

He couldn’t.

_Why was he pinned under something?_

It hurt to think.

Maybe he was just dreaming, and he would wake up in another few hours to go to school. He would poke Kagami awake during class, and perhaps squeeze in some basketball practice during lunch, before going to join the rest of Seirin for practice. Yes, that sounded right... He was just about to let himself drift back into the darkness when he heard a decidedly more distinctive, familiar voice.

“Kuroko?”

 It was softer, and much more uncertain than usual. But then, maybe that was just because his ears were still ringing.

  _‘Kagami-kun?’_ He tried to reply, but his throat felt hoarse, and all he managed was a croak. Kuroko forced himself to open his eyes and turn towards the voice’s source. He blinked once, twice, as his eyes slowly focused on the figure kneeling in front of him. He blinked a few more times as he processed the sight of blood dripping from a cut on Kagami’s forehead.

 All of his memories returned in full force.

X

“Don’t the fast food chains here give free food or something when there’s a birthday?” Kagami asked between mouthfuls of fries. He cocked his thumb toward the table opposite to them. A seven-year-old boy sitting in front of a vanilla (Kuroko approved) birthday cake with green, Shrek-shaped frosting beamed widely at his father, who held a camera in his hands.

 “I’ve never celebrated any birthdays here, so I wouldn’t know.” Kuroko replied, watching as the kid stuck his tongue out at his older sister. “But Kagami-kun, please refrain from talking when you’re chewing.”

 Kagami rolled his eyes good-naturedly, but complied anyway. They ate in companionable silence, Kagami devouring his second burger while Kuroko sipped his vanilla shake at a much more leisurely pace. Both of them watched the family of four as they sang the birthday song. Some of the staff members and customers joined in, and they all cheered when the boy blew out the candles.

That was when the light flickered, and a loud siren started to wail.

There were given few seconds to react before the world around them started shaking. Kuroko heard screaming, swearing and names being shouted everywhere. He heard Kagami calling him, found himself being yanked under the table, and felt a jolt of pain on the crown of his head.

He welcomed the darkness that took him.

X

“What… how?” Kuroko managed, frowning at the way his throat felt parched even though he remembered having finished at least half of his vanilla shake before… everything.

“You’re awake!” Kagami all but announced, stating the obvious. If he had looked disproportionately relieved to see him speaking, Kuroko didn’t point it out. It was, however, a cause for concern.

“How long have I been unconscious?” He asked, swallowing his saliva in an attempt to wet his throat.

“Fifteen minutes? You weren’t responding but I didn’t dare drag you out and – it’s great that you’re okay.” Kagami finished lamely, scratching his head. Kuroko felt compelled to smile, despite his headache, sore throat and numb legs.

Ah, yes. Kuroko turned to the side, steering Kagami’s gaze toward the rubble that had crushed most of the table Kuroko was under.

“Uh right! Sorry. I was just – never mind. Let me help you out.” Kagami flushed, standing up in a sudden motion that made Kuroko somewhat dizzier. He did not complain, though, when the pressure on his legs eased. He clambered out clumsily, wincing at the sudden wave of vertigo that hit him. Luckily, Kagami managed to grab Kuroko and support his weight before he fell.  

“Thank you.” Kuroko said, once the worst had passed.

He took the chance to look at his surroundings… and registered the widespread destruction in the place that had used to be known as “Maji Burger”. Most of the ceiling lights of the booths had fallen, and half of the building’s walls had caved in – the side near the kitchen, from which billows of smoke drifted into the eating area they were in. Surrounding him, small groups of people helped their companions to their feet, with varying expressions of shock, fear, relief… and grief.

Kuroko turned, almost reflexively, to the table opposite theirs. Or at least, to the rubble that had once been an actual structure. His eyes widen – at the father who _(had been laughing, taking pictures with his family)_ was hunched protectively over his wife and children; at the cake, which lay smashed as a barely recognisable smear on the ground, right in the line of sight of the birthday boy’s gaze. Except, even though his eyes were wide open, they were unmistakably empty.

His father’s efforts had obviously been in vain.

The numbness wore off, and the horror set in.

(Mother. Father. Sempais. Kouhais. Kise. Momoi. Murasakibara. Midorima. Akashi. Aomine.) The images flashed in quick succession – all of them eyes blank and unseeing, forever lost, never being able to live out their whole lives the way they _should_ – his nausea increased tenfold, and Kuroko vaguely processed that Kagami was calling his name, holding him tightly, but he could not respond in time, or warn him –

He bent over and vomited.

~~~

  
_“Oi Tetsu, don’t get so depressing. It’s the company that matters, right?”_

  
~~~

1B.

One moment, Aomine was minding his own business, trying to solve a pointless math question while Satsuki and Ryou (okay fine not literally) breathed down his neck. The next, a blaring alarm had rung and everything had just gone to shit.

Right now, he was hunkering down underneath Ryou’s bed, after having narrowly escaped being crushed by the bookshelf. He thanked his godly reflexes for having rolled out of the way just in time. He would not be dying by way of being crushed by piles of _assessment books,_ damn it. The solid wood part would be more bearable for his pride – but definitely not his health. So all in all, yeah, he was pretty thankful.

After the shaking stopped, Aomine slowly rolled back out into the open space and stood up. He stretched experimentally… and grimaced. He’d definitely hurt something in his back, but hey, he wasn’t dead and that was definitely a plus.

He’d been through a minor quake before, but while this didn’t seem that high up on the scale either, the effects seemed to be much worse. He squinted through plumes of dust as he looked around the room, making out dark shapes that used to be furniture.

It was then that he realised how quiet it was.

It wasn’t supposed to be.

“Satsuki, Ryou, you okay?” Aomine called out, hoping for a “Yes” or even a “Sorry”, or just any sign of life.

There was no answer. Aomine had never hated silence so much. He searched his mind frantically for where they could be. Right, he had been upstairs alone, because the other two had… fuck. Satsuki had gone down to the kitchen to find some food after Aomine begged for some, hadn’t she? And then Aomine had forced Ryou to go along to make sure whatever she brought up would be edible.

Aomine ignored the mess that was now Ryou’s bedroom; ignored the sharp pain in his lumbar – and tore down the stairs, his heart pounding in his chest the way it usually did only in the toughest of games. Even _he_ knew that the kitchen was just about the most dangerous place to be in during an earthquake. What if the gas had exploded? Okay, he would have exploded with it since the kitchen was directly downstairs. At least that hadn’t happened.

He nearly slipped on a bunch of utensils as he ran into the kitchen. He skidded to a halt and grabbed the wooden edge of the doorway, righting himself just in time.

The place was a wreck. The fridge lay horizontally on the floor, and the floor was littered with shards of glass and porcelain, along with the odd knife, fork or spoon. He scanned the area quickly, just hoping that he wouldn’t see any of them lying on the floor in a pool of their own blood – he blocked the visual from his thoughts.

“Oi! Satsuki? Ryou?” Aomine tried again. He would _never_ forgive himself if-

“Dai-chan?” Satsuki’s voice – slightly shaky, but it was her all right – rang out from the rightmost corner of the kitchen. Aomine blinked as she and Ryou emerged from a door he never knew existed, seemingly unharmed. He rushed forward, almost forgetting the broken shards everywhere as he let his childhood friend wrap her arms tightly around him.

“S-sorry! We were in the bomb shelter!” Ryou said, even more wound up than what was customary for him lately… although with good reason. Anyway, Aomine was so relieved that he didn’t even quarrel with him for apologising for _surviving_. He just clapped Ryou on the back, although with the way he reacted it seemed more like Aomine had shot him or something.

“There’s been multiple earthquakes throughout Japan, and many other countries. Most aren’t too high on the Richter scale, but…” Satsuki bit her lips as she pulled back, hand reaching out toward her phone again. Trust her to already have information gathered at this stage. At least that meant communication was still on…

Suffice to say, Aomine was alive; all three of them were. But, as for everyone else… His parents were out of the country, so they would probably just be worried sick about Aomine but they were probably fine… unless Thailand had also been hit. But then, there was also Tetsu and Kise and the rest of his old and current teammates and he didn’t _really_ want to see any of them dead, no matter what he might have indicated.  

“Multiple tectonic plates? This is like an apocalypse from a manga.” Ryou whimpered.

Satsuki and Aomine both turned to him, aghast. (Saying it was like jinxing it, and who wanted that to happen?)

“Come on, what are the odds of that?” Aomine laughed weakly. His argument sounded pretty lame to himself. He was no math expert, but even he knew enough from geography that the probability of different countries throughout the Eastern hemisphere experiencing separate natural disasters at the same time was _low_.

Before anyone could reply, Satsuki’s ringtone rang. She picked up immediately and switched her phone to loudspeaker mode.

They all winced at the static.

“Momo-cchi, — there?” Kise’s voice was barely recognisable over whatever was happening at his end. Either that, or it was just the bad reception.

“Kise?” Aomine practically shouted at the phone, drowning out Satsuki’s reply.

(If Kise was fine too…)

There was a few seconds of excruciating silence.

“I don’t hear any response, but the call connected, right? I hope you’re all fine… it would be nice to talk to someone.” Kise’s voice rang out, and Aomine just _knew_ that something was wrong. “Help would be even better, but it’s unlikely, right? Who would come to the modelling agency building—”

Another burst of static cut off Kise’s words. Aomine kept replaying the words ‘help’ and ‘stuck’ in an endless loop and he almost literally felt his blood run cold. Satsuki jabbed the volume up button desperately next to him, and Kise’s muffled voice flowed through again.

“— Under lots of stuff and everyone here that isn’t… dead is gone.” Kise laughed shakily, and his voice just sounded so resigned and unlike his usual tone that Aomine wanted to punch the wall or shake his former teammate, except he _couldn’t._ “The good part is I have spa—”

The line cut off.

They called again, and he didn’t answer.

“Fuck.” Aomine muttered, clenching his fists. He whipped out his phone to try again. His screen had cracked, but it was still functional, if it wasn’t for that the fact that the damn thing just wouldn’t connect. Damn the power lines. Damn this stupid earthquake. _Damn himself._ He scrolled through the two missed calls he received from Kise – five minutes ago – and this time, he had to be forcibly restrained by Satsuki and Ryou from punching a wall.

How long could someone survive in an unstable, partially collapsed building with no food or water?

(What if he died?)

Aomine swore again, and even Satsuki didn’t say anything about it this time, even though she _was_ right that it didn’t make anything better. All the relief that he’d got when he saw Satsuki and Ryou just drained right out of him. This was unfair. He just stared at Satsuki, who had a look of barely suppressed terror on her face, and resolved himself.

“Do you have supplies and tools?” Aomine asked sharply as he turned to the shooting guard.

“Y-yes. In the shelter-”

Aomine all but ran past Ryou and Satsuki into the bomb shelter. Satsuki was going on about how he had to be less reckless and think of a plan and Ryou was saying something else that he couldn’t even process, and he was just ignoring the both of them, his attention solely focused on sieving out the useful stuff. He grabbed a crowbar, tossing it into a large duffel bag. He wasn’t Akashi or Midorima or even Tetsu and he knew that he was impulsive and couldn’t plan for shit; also it wasn’t like he wanted to be a hero or anything like that anyway.

What he did know for sure was that right now, there was nothing that could stop him from finding Kise and getting him the hell out of wherever he was trapped in.

No person – thing – _whatever_ – would stop him.

~~~

Next chapter:  
  
_“Oh my, Daiki. Coming from you, I believe the rest of us should feel touched.”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if any of this seems slightly OOC for any of them, but high stress situations!! And we already know how Aomine is protective of Kise and Kuroko…
> 
> Please do leave some feedback/comments! It would be very motivational…


	2. At the end of the age

_"Oh my, Daiki. Coming from you, I believe the rest of us should feel touched."_

~~~

1C.

It was rather a shame having to watch as the priceless antiques his father so treasured fell to the ground and shattered, sending shards of glass and porcelain flying all over the floor. Shelves stacked full with limited editions of books clattered wildly and toppled, adding to the scene of destruction with their offerings of rare tomes. They were quickly followed by the shogi pieces that had once been laid on the board placed atop the wooden table that he and Shintarou were currently huddled under.

He reached out, on a whim, and caught one of the pieces mid-fall.

His king.

He flipped the piece in his hand a few times before pocketing it. He would have won anyway, but the game had been unfolding in a rather intriguing manner, and he’d been enjoying it.

( _Pity.)_

“You shouldn’t stick your hand out like that.” Midorima said, observing Akashi with a frown. His voice was soft and somewhat hoarse, but otherwise calm. A stark contrast from what he would have observed if it had been Kise next to him, perhaps. On the other hand, Ryouta was unlikely to question Akashi in such a manner.

“Thank you for your concern, Shintarou.” Akashi turned to the shooting guard and flashed a smile that could be perceived as a borderline smirk.

There was no need for him to explain that he had evaluated the possibility of his being injured with such an act and found it negligibly low. Shintarou understood that intuitively from years of companionship, and merely scoffed in reply.

The space under the table was small and uncomfortable, but the wooden structure had proven to be sturdy, and they remained unscathed under it, if silent. It wasn’t that they were completely unbothered, however, as much as it might have seemed so to an outsider. Akashi recognised the signs of tension: Midorima clutched his lucky item – a pair of size 12 knitting needles – uncharacteristically tightly; Akashi had to forcibly unclench his jaw when he’d first noticed it, and that was something he only ever did in the most dire of situations.

( _Situations you have no control over, you mean?)_

Neither of them had ever been through any catastrophic events, but Akashi supposed that their upbringing had taught them that panicking in such situations was just counter-productive and ultimately, pointless.

The shaking subsided soon enough, even if it had felt longer than the usual half a minute earthquakes purportedly took. Akashi exchanged a glance with Midorima, and they both stood up from under the table. Shintarou carefully made his way toward the window, while Akashi surveyed the damage that had been done to the room. Decorative pieces and fallen shelves aside, it wasn’t _too_ bad.

“Akashi, you might want to see this.” Shintarou’s voice was sharp and demanded attention.

Akashi turned to him, noting that he was visibly rattled. He followed Midorima’s line of sight, and understood immediately.

“This isn’t a normal earthquake.” Midorima said quietly, still transfixed by the view outside. It was certainly… different.

“So it seems.” Akashi frowned. He whipped out his phone, checking if there was any reception, and quickly tuned in to the local radio channel.

“ _The Eastern hemisphere has been hit by several high magnitude earthquakes, and on-site witnesses have reported the presence of what they term a ‘dark cloud’ travelling due east in the sky. Experts have not been contacted at this point in time and it is unclear what this entails. Civilians are advised to stay-”_

Akashi quit the application, having heard what he needed to know. Almost immediately, a call from his father came in.

“ _Seijuurou, are you unharmed?”_ The smooth, baritone voice of his father rang out surprisingly clearly, considering the circumstances. The conversation was brief and transactional, but Akashi detected the faintest hint of worry in his father’s voice. Even so, he couldn’t help comparing his own exchange to the much more effusive one Shintarou was currently partaking in with his own family, complete with reassurances.

_(Fake promises.)_

“My father has instructed us to get to Tokyo. There will be ships carrying refugees to the west in a few days.” Akashi said, looking up from his phone when the shooter was done.

If anything, Shintarou seemed relieved at the statement – but that was understandable. Almost everyone they knew was there.

Akashi turned his attention back to his phone, typing out a message to inform his teammates, both old and current, of the news. He waited for the delivery reports characteristic of deliverance.

Only three came in. Akashi resisted the urge to strangle something, reminding himself that that was exceedingly impractical.

“Reception’s gone.” Midorima said, his eyes flashing with his own frustration.

Outside, the sky grew progressively darker, casting strange shadows interspersed by flashes of brilliant, green light that definitely were not a figment of Akashi’s imagination. They had to leave soon.

“Come with me.” Akashi said, quickly going through their options in his head as he set off at a brisk pace. “Our emergency supplies are in the basement.”

His house had proven to be stable so far, considering none of the walls or roofs in the area had given way, but he would rather not take his chance with aftershocks and whatever it was that seemed to be brewing outside.

“Was the information about the ships released to the masses?” Shintarou asked, and it was indeed a question that Akashi had been pondering.

Akashi shook his head. “I doubt so, but information spreads fast, and going to the city is not an unconventional course.”

“The _shinkansen_ is unlikely to be in operation. Or safe.” Midorima continued, hurrying after Akashi as he quickened the pace along a corridor.

“We will have to travel by car.” Akashi decided, his mind evaluating the pros and cons of using designated public evacuation transport versus the various forms of private transport. He wondered if his butler and maids were fine, or if they had already left. It would be preferable if they could bring an adult along for the trip. Even if they could drive themselves, in the worst case, it would be beneficial to all involved to take turns.

Shintarou nodded in reply as he listed off a few items with his fingers. “If we plan for the worst case scenario where travel is compromised and we have to go by foot, we will require a bare minimum of six days worth of non-perishables and bottled water, the usual medical supplies, respirators… I assume you have pre-prepared sets of supplies?”

Akashi listened to Midorima’s stocktaking, interjecting as he went along to provide clarification, add items and offer alternatives to reduce the load. It was a comprehensive list they came up with, and they manage to fit it all into three reasonably sized haversacks. They worked quickly after that, getting into a car that Akashi’s butler, Kashiwaka, had prepared.

If Akashi _had_ to choose a partner to navigate a potential apocalypse with, it was not at all strange that Midorima was one of the best options. They had the same way of dealing with challenges by focusing on addressing all contingencies while repressing needless sentimentality. They worked quite well together, both on-court and off-court.

Regardless, it wasn’t as if Akashi needed the external validation. If he had anything to say about this fiasco, it was that they would get through this. All of _them_ would.

_(Do you not mean ‘must’?)_

~~~

_“Aww, I knew that Aomine-cchi secretly loved us.”_

~~~

  
1D.

It was dark, dusty and everything that Kise had always dreaded. The fact that he was now completely _alone_ – well, maybe that wasn’t 100% right. He had his manager to accompany him, which Kise would be more than fine with if she wasn’t… _dead._ He tried not to look at the area; tried not to see how the falling cement had crushed her head, how the one eye that hadn’t been mangled was still open and staring straight at the door that was now caved in.

Kise resisted the urge to gag, or cry, or maybe both.

Contrary to popular belief, he wasn’t always surrounded by people. But he’d never felt so _alone,_ like now _._ It was so quiet. He could literally hear the beating of his heart, faster than usual from his internal panicking.

The rest of the shooting team had left, some of them running straight out without a second glance, some of them throwing apologies to him but leaving him behind anyway. It wasn’t like he had the right to feel betrayed, considering that he would probably have done the same, but he did anyway.

He felt the slightest sting of tears in his eyes as he stared at his phone, which had cut off right in the middle of his one-sided conversation with Momoi. (Aomine hadn’t picked up, and what if _he wasn’t okay?_ What if…)

Kise shook his head. He needed to focus on living as long as he could. What would any of them say if they knew he was dehydrating himself by crying? First of all, he needed to get himself unstuck from this _dratted_ slab and the wire entangled with his shirt, without slicing his arm open.

At least it hadn’t pierced straight through his flesh, right?

He could already feel the numbness setting in.

_If only he had a pair of scissors._

He had already tried pulling himself free but he wasn’t strong enough. The shirt was too tight and Kise risked strangling himself if he tried to wriggle out… Maybe he could try tearing the sleeves off? Except, the material was too stretchy to tear. If he wanted to do this, he had to cut the sleeve off _._ But, with what? All he had that was sharp was the brooch he’d been modelling.

Could that work? It wasn’t like he lacked time… Well, there was no harm trying.

Kise slid the brooch out from his shirt carefully with his free hand, and stared at it. Luckily, the needle pin thing was quite thick, so perhaps this could actually work after all. He resolved himself, ignoring the developing ache in his arm from the awkward way he had to position himself as he slowly poked a series of holes, close enough to form a larger tear. 

(Was it possible that Momoi had heard what he said, though? But what could she do by herself? And there was everyone else too. What if he was already in the best situation out of all them? Or maybe he was the unluckiest…)

After what seemed like a year, the hole finally seemed big enough. Gritting his teeth with effort, he pulled away as far as he could from the metal… and hissed at the sharp pain. _Shit._ Wasn’t the wire rusty? His chest tightened, and he had to force himself to slow down his breathing and calm down. There was nothing that Kise could do now anyway. He’d had a tetanus shot some time in the last two years, right? Maybe it was still working…?

He wished that he had the Internet, or maybe Midorima or Kasamatsu to ask (pester), but he was still alone. The cut wasn’t deep, luckily, but it had still drawn some blood. Kise yanked out the cloth belt he was wearing and wrapped it around the wound tightly. Ha, let no one doubt the power of clothes and accessories.

Still, Kise had never been so glad to hear a ripping sound. At least, he could walk around the (cramped) space now. Although, there was only one placed he wanted to go: _out._ He made a beeline straight for the blocked entrance. Taking a deep breath, he tugged at the topmost rock-shaped concrete desperately, pushing it with all the strength he had, throwing his weight against it… but the thing barely moved a centimetre.

Kise screamed – both to cry for help and to vent his frustration – until he was hoarse. He didn’t know why he even tried. It was obviously a futile effort trying to move the heavy debris from this side… _alone._

It was just a waste of energy, wasn’t it?

He gave up, settling himself on the floor and staring up at the hole between the rocks, his sole source of light and air. As long as it didn’t rain, he would be fine… until he died of dehydration or starvation or tetanus poisoning or being buried by an aftershock. What were the odds that anyone could find him and rescue him in time?

His eyes wandered back to the body directly opposite where he currently sat.  

_Was that how he would end up?_

_(He really didn’t want to.)_

Kise ran his fingers through his hair, filthy as they may be, and threw his head back with a dramatic sigh. Talking to himself was sad, right? Nevertheless, he wondered out loud how dark it would be when night came, and resigned himself to finding out.  

~~~

_“Mine-chin, do you want a hug?"_

~~~

  
1E.

Murasakibara had been snacking – umaibo held in his hand, about to enter his lips – when the world started to tremble. He wasn’t sure why everyone around them started panicking, though. It wasn’t that bad. Just the figurines in the store shaking, but they were plastic. Even if they fell, it was okay. They’d experienced this kind of tremors before… whenever there was an earthquake in the distance. 

He felt a tug on his arm, and turned to look.

“Atsushi, we should bend down too.” Himuro looked worried… well this was probably more rare in America. Either way, Murasakibara allowed his teammate to pull him down against the wall. In the meantime, he continued munching on his umaibo, even though Himuro looked somewhat chagrined at that. He offered his companion a box of collons, but as he’d guessed, that wasn’t it. Ah well.

Murasakibara watched the scene around him as the shaking stopped in a matter of seconds. It really wasn’t as serious as some of the people around them were making it seem, with all their hugging and stuff. No one had even got hurt.

Next to him, Himuro said something about searching for what was going on. Just then, Murasakibara felt the vibration in his pocket. He took his phone out. Who would be calling at a time like this? He frowned as he read the tersely worded message.

“There’s been a rather serious earthquake in Tokyo and other prefectures at the Southern parts of Japan. China, Korea, and some parts of South-East Asia have also been hit.” Himuro read out from his phone, and that made both more and less sense to Murasakibara. On the other hand… he squeezed the wrapper in his hand tightly. 

He was unused to seeing Himuro look so worried, since he was usually the calm one, even as he continued his search for information. “Apparently there have also been sightings of some strange phenomena that experts haven’t been able to explain.” 

Obviously, something more serious was happening than just multiple earthquakes. It would explain Akashi’s message. As usual, he was two steps ahead. Maybe he already had a whole escape route planned. Well, in that case…

“Muro-chin, we should go to Tokyo.” 

“ _What?”_ Himuro asked, obviously confused as he looked up from his own phone. That was understandable, considering Murasakibara was extremely confused too. He passed his phone to Himuro and let him read the message for himself. 

“Isn’t it dangerous leaving Akita for an area we know something bad is happening?” Himuro frowned, handing the phone back. “We should wait for official evacuation announcements.” 

“I trust Aka-chin.” Murasakibara said simply. “And I want Muro-chin to be safe too.”

Himuro’s eyes flashed a whole range of emotions that Murasakibara didn’t recognise, except for the obvious one of conflict and hesitation. Murasakibara scowled. Hesitation was a sign of weakness, and he didn’t like it on any of his friends. 

Murasakibara waited patiently as his teammate typed away on his phone, probably trying to contact either Kagami or his parents. Murasakibara should call his parents too, actually. Or maybe, get more information from Akashi. He might already know if the rest were okay.

“You’re planning to go anyway, right?” Himuro asked, a resigned expression on his face. The call hadn’t got through.

Murasakibara nodded.

Himuro paused for a second, and seemed to be gathering his resolve. “Well, if anything’s going to happen, I’d rather meet up with Taiga too.”

That, Murasakibara could understand. All of his past teammates were in either Tokyo or Kyoto…

He crushed the collon box he held in his other hand.

~~~

Next chapter:  
  
_“Eh? Stop putting words into my mouth. And keep your hands – and that thing – to yourself-”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I think it's Kise that needs the hug...
> 
> Okay, I definitely had the most trouble with Murasakibara and Himuro. Sorry if it was off!  
> Also, don’t mind the way I casually grouped them up very conveniently, but I wanted to preserve my sanity. Following 4-5 separate plotlines… never again. 
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


	3. It will land you and me

_“Eh? Stop putting words into my mouth. And keep your hands – and that thing – to yourself-”_

~~~

2B.

Seeing the state of the main street up ahead just made everything that much more complicated for Aomine. He exhaled slowly, tried to orientate himself… and hoped that their path ahead didn’t involve _that._

“Driving wouldn’t have worked, even if my parents weren’t at work.” Ryou said glumly from a few steps behind him. His voice was more muffled than usual due to the mask covering his mouth. (Satsuki had taken one look at the dust outside before forcing the masks onto them.)

“At least it doesn’t seem like anything else is happening!” Satsuki exclaimed in an overly cheerful tone that _might_ have worked if it weren’t for the whole doomsday mood. As it was, she received two non-committal groans for her effort.  _Fine_ , it could have been worse. At least the figures on the streets were normal humans, and not hordes of zombies or anything like that. But, it wasn’t like they had anything to cheer about either.

The thing was, the streets were swarmed with people. Normally, that wouldn’t be so bad – but then, getting separated had never been so worrying. Not to mention, Aomine was carrying a large pack stuffed with things (they would _somehow_ be useful for helping Kise, okay? _)_ that made it unusually bulky and heavy. Squeezing through people would just waste time and make it pretty damn hard to run.

“It’s that way down, right?” Aomine waved his hand toward the left of the junction… which meant they would be going against the flow of the crowd. Great _._ They had never tried to get to Aoyama by foot before, and now they were doing it for the first time by trying to recognise half-ruined landmarks hidden by dust clouds, while not getting squashed. At least Ryou’s house was pretty near the boundary to the Aoyama district. That, along with Aomine’s and Satsuki’s description of Kise’s agency’s building and Ryou’s knowledge of their ward, had given them some idea of how to get there.  

That didn’t stop the three of them from gawking at the scene before them, though.

“Maybe we should take a detour instead?” Ryou suggested quietly. “We could go straight down to the second intersection before turning left and then… it’s longer though. Sorry!”

“S’ not like _you_ made it longer,” Aomine sighed, but he didn’t have the time to push that right now. “Let’s do that. At least we’re cutting across and not against.”

“Where _are_ all of those people going anyway?” Satsuki wondered out loud.

Right. That was a good question.

They got their answer when they saw the soldiers directing everyone to a bunch of huge buses. Aomine frowned. Evacuation on this scale… Ah, whatever. He had no time to be worrying about that kind of thing right now. If they needed to evacuate, they could do it after finding Kise.

Making sure Satsuki and Ryou were following closely behind him, he made his way through by (rudely) nudging and pushing people aside. He may have received some glares and curses, but he really couldn’t care less. He went through the directions in his head – straight, left, another turn left... and came face to face with an unfriendly looking soldier.

“Kids, you need to head back where you came from and evacuate the area immediately.” Another soldier, clean-shaven instead of bearded, commanded

They hadn’t been expecting two soldiers to be standing at the end of the junction, shepherding everyone back toward the buses, and blocking their paths ahead.

Aomine wasn’t very sure how he’d tried to explain after that, but either he’d fucked up somewhere or these guys were just _fucking unreasonable_.

“What do you mean we can’t go there?” Aomine gritted out, reminding himself that charging past the police officer right there and then was a bad idea. He probably _could_ have if it weren’t for the fact that they might retaliate with Satsuki or Ryou, and he wasn’t risking that. (It had nothing to do with Satsuki’s almost-painful grip on his shoulder. Really.)

It didn’t even make sense. Why the hell wouldn’t they be allowed into the area where Kise was? And why were they being so damn forceful and secretive about this so-called mandatory evacuation anyway? Every second that he wasted standing here, being questioned and questioning, was one that could have been used for narrowing the distance between them and Kise.

“I’m telling you that our _friend_ is _trapped_ in a building somewhere in Aoyama, and we’re going to help him, not get on that-” Aomine waved his hand in the general direction of the buses with increasing levels of irritation and desperation.

The first soldier that approached them looked the opposite of impressed. Rather, the bearded man looked ready to grab Aomine’s shirt and throw him onto the vehicle. It was a mutual sentiment.

“It’s for your safety. All matters regarding the rescuing of survivors will be handled by trained personnel.” The second soldier explained impassively.

Okay, Aomine got the point, but couldn’t _they_ get that he just wanted to make surethat Kise would be rescued and was okay? What if the building he was in wasn’t even checked for survivors in time? He’d even offered to go _with_ the rescuers or whatever they were called but _no_ , the place was on lockdown for who knew why and- 

“We’re operating on a tight schedule, boy. It would do you good to cooperate with us and board the bus now.” The first soldier barked. He eyed Aomine, Ryou and Satsuki in turn until his gaze finally settled on her. His eyes slowly lowered to her chest – and _lingered_ there.

Aomine immediately tensed up. He glared at the man while not so subtly angling himself. “ _You_ -”

“Sorry, sirs!” Ryou pushed past him and interrupted, surprising him for a moment. Next to him, Satsuki shot Aomine a warning look, even though she looked rather pissed off herself. _Right._ He let out his breath in a hiss, zoning out as his childhood friend joined Ryou in an apology-explanation thing. Well, Ryou did most of the apologising and Satsuki the explaining, but that worked.

Except, it didn’t. 

Mollified or not, the soldiers ended up forcibly escorting (note: grabbing and shoving) the three of them into one of the buses, and entering after them. Aomine could have broken free, but if he did and they’d hurt Satsuki or some shit like that anyway… well this was just plain, shitty coercion, wasn’t it?

Barely after they were forced to sit, the bus began to roll forward. The rest of the people in it were pretty quiet, except for the one baby crying his heart out in his mother’s arms, somewhere near the back of the bus. Everyone else seemed to be in some degree of shock. The luckier ones leaned against their loved ones, drawing comfort from each other. The ones who were alone cupped their heads in their hands and huddled into themselves.

Well, at least they were _willingly_ heading toward safety, if that was what this was supposed to be.

Aomine slammed the side of his fist against the window, earning a warning from the soldiers and alarmed looks from some of the other evacuees around him. _Damn it_ , getting Kise out was supposed to be the hard part. Not trying to even get into the area he was in in the first place! He would never forgive those soldiers if-

“Dai-chan, calm down!” Satsuki grabbed Aomine’s hand and turned it over in her palms, inspecting it for any injury.

“It’s fine.” Aomine said, although he allowed her to check as she pleased. He turned to the shooting guard who sat four rows in front of them, right behind where the two soldiers were sitting.

As if he felt the weight of the gaze, Ryou turned back and met Aomine’s eyes for a moment, before looking down and turning back to face the front.

With a guilty jolt, Aomine wondered how _he_ even felt about all of this? Aomine had practically assumed that his teammate would be coming along to help him with Kise. Satsuki had obviously been in for the ride, despite his protests, so he had just… Shit. What if Ryou had wanted to search for his parents? Or at least stay at home and wait for them? Now that their mobiles weren’t even working – and he didn’t even know Kise outside of their games against Kaijou

“He’s stronger than he seems.” Satsuki said softly as she squeezed his hand, startling Aomine.

“What?” Aomine asked defensively, mostly in reflex. What kind of expression had he been making to warrant a conversation like this? Did Satsuki think he was turning into a sap?

“He reminds me a little of Kuroko-kun in that respect.” Satsuki continued, and Aomine pretended he didn’t see that small flinch when she said the name.

The thought did hurt. Or rather, what hurt was the _nothingness_ that was his knowledge of everyone’s safety. He knew there was no point worrying about it, but that was way easier said than done. Instead, he tried to reconcile the image of Ryou and Tetsu in his mind. Ehh, okay, he could see where his childhood friend was coming from. Ryou had his pride; Tetsu had his convictions – and they were both actually really stubborn when it came to certain things… yeah, he’d seen that, hadn’t he?

(He felt somewhat better.)

“It’s not like I ever said he was weak.” Aomine muttered, fixing his gaze back on Satsuki.

(He wasn’t sure whom exactly he was referring to, and was even less sure about why a pinkish hue had spread across her cheeks.)

What Aomine really wanted to know right now, though, was where they were going and how they were going to somehow kick the soldiers’ asses and get off this bus. He briefly entertained the thought of breaking the bus’ window open with his crowbar, complete with glass shattering everywhere like in the movies. Pity that if he even _tried_ pulling off such a stunt, he’d probably get shot.

Whatever - he’d figure something out soon. He had to. If they were getting further from Kise… _someone_ , somewhere had hell to pay.  
  
~~~

 _“…You’re being very quiet, Midorima-kun.”_  
  
~~~  
  
2A.

The vomit left an unpleasant taste in Kuroko’s mouth, made far worse by the fact that he knew he shouldn’t just waste the little water he had left in his water bottle by gargling and spitting it out. Instead, he forced himself to swallow the putrid-tasting liquid after swishing it around in his mouth.

It didn’t quite help that Kagami was watching all of that in morbid fascination

Kuroko wrinkled his nose as he swallowed his third mouthful – the taste still lingered, but it was already much better than before. He still felt a little wobbly on his feet, which was why he’d had no complaints when Kagami had pulled him toward one of the remaining booths far from the one they had been at.

(He wouldn’t think about that boy, or his family, or that woman over by the side crying and shaking a male body that was so disfigured that-)

“Kagami-kun, you should dress that wound.” Kuroko said, deciding to focus instead on the worries closer to home.

“Huh?” Kagami startled for a moment, having been looking around himself, before realisation dawned in his eyes. “Oh right, I kind of forgot about that. It doesn’t really hurt. It’s not even that deep.”

Kuroko couldn’t quite decide between concern and amusement, but found the latter rather hard considering all the blood, even if it oozed out slowly and was mostly dry. It was also somewhat worrying that the cut was around the length of his index finger.

“It would be bad if it got infected anyway.” Kuroko said as he finally tore his eyes away from the cut.

“Yes, yes. Shouldn’t you be more worried about yourself? You know you’re the one who got all unconscious and nauseous, right?” Kagami pointed at him accusingly while unceremoniously flopping down on the seat opposite him.

To tell the truth, the familiarity of this type of indignant reply comforted Kuroko. It was almost enough to ground him in this sea of abnormality, if it wasn’t for the fear that somewhere, someone that he knew… Kuroko cut off the thought.

“You’re the one who’s bleeding dry.” Kuroko swatted the offending finger away, the corners of his lips twitching up slightly as Kagami spluttered about Kuroko ‘jinxing him’. “There should be a first aid kit here, right?”

Almost on cue, a grey-haired man appeared, holding a miniature version of such a kit in his hands. Kuroko couldn’t really tell, but if he were to hazard a guess, he’d say the man was around fifty years old in age. The most eye-catching thing, however, was the jagged scar that ran from his cheek down to the side of his neck, obvious even in the dim lighting. Kuroko averted his gaze, trying not to stare at it.

“You called?” The man’s friendly tone dissipated the intimidating aura he’d possessed.

“Uh yeah?” Kagami answered somewhat awkwardly. “I just need to dress this cut.”

“If that’s all you need, I can help you.” The man unzipped his medical kit, which was surprisingly well stocked for something so small.

Kuroko watched in slight awe as the man moved with smooth, deft motions, transitioning from swabbing antiseptic on Kagami’s skin to putting on the bandage.  It was all done in a very clinical manner – skills honed from what had to be years of experience.

“You’re lucky that whatever cut you didn’t hit any major vessel or leave any debris.” The man said with a wry smile as he secured the bandaging with some adhesive tape. “There might be some scarring, but nothing too bad.”

“Right. Thank you…” Kagami drifted off, evidently having realised that the man hadn’t introduced himself.

“You’re welcome.” The man smiled as he methodically placed everything back into his kit. “My name is Tamura, although-”

“ _No,_ he’s still alive – someone save him!” A particularly loud wail came from the woman who knelt by the disfigured figure.

They all winced.

It seemed like another woman, slightly older than the first, had unsuccessfully tried to pry her from what was left of her husband.

Kuroko quickly looked away and took a few deep breaths. His traitorous thoughts reminded him that that could have been anyone. It could have been Kagami, if they’d chosen to sit at that spot. How many times had they sat there before? He’d never been a touchy-feely sort of person, so the sudden alien urge to just throw his arms around Kagami and soak in the atmosphere of comfort was precisely that – strange. While Kagami would likely allow it, Kuroko couldn’t bring himself to fulfil such a selfish request of his own. 

“There’s nothing I can do for that man.” Tamura-san said, breaking Kuroko’s reverie. While his tone was sad, the look in his eye could only be described as hard. It was a haunted kind of look, and Kuroko wondered somewhat hollowly if the sight of death was one he was used to.

He wondered if his own eyes would ever mirror that look.

The image of those empty eyes appeared in Kuroko’s head again, and it was all he could do to blink it away and refuse to think.

“Are you a doctor?” Kuroko asked, and if the man hadn’t realised Kuroko was sitting there, he hid it extremely well, unlike most before him.

“Medic in the military, though when you have so many nieces and nephews running about, you don’t really get out of practice” He replied with a smile that was almost _too_ warm. “Well, I’d better see if anyone else needs help. Stay safe!”

The two of them had barely nodded to him before he swiftly walked toward another table where a young lady was cradling her wrist.

There were around eight of them that had made it. That was probably around half of everyone who had been in the shop 

“It would be nice never to experience an earthquake again.” Kagami said weakly, as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Are you going to tell your parents you’re safe?”

“Yes.” Kuroko blinked, feeling like his brain functions must have been impaired. He reached for his own mobile, only to see a few notifications already blinking. Kuroko opened the messages from his parents first – silently thanking the divine entities for both of their safeties.

He quickly typed a reply out, but it refused to send.

Kuroko bit his lip as a surge of anger and guilt filled him. At this rate, his parents were going to think that he was… _If only he hadn’t got unconscious._

“Kagami-kun? Did you manage to communicate with anyone?” Kuroko’s voice came out tighter than he would have liked.

Kagami frowned as he shook his head. “You too, huh?”

Kuroko resorted to opening the last message he’d received – from Akashi – and drew in a sharp breath at its contents:

_The situation is more serious than it might seem. Go to Yokohama._

The short, just grammatical, explanation-less message wasn’t really characteristic of Akashi… but knowing his former captain, it just meant that this was an emergency. But, what did he mean by the situation was serious? Was a bad aftershock expected? Going to Yokohama, though, seemed to indicate that they were leaving the country by ship. This was so confusing.

“Kuroko? Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.” Kagami asked, and Kuroko realised with a start that he must have blanked out for a while – one of Kagami’s hands was on Kuroko’s shoulder. The warmth from his hand was comforting, even if it was covered in grime and dust, and Kuroko was somewhat sorry when he retracted it after Kuroko looked up.

Wordlessly, Kuroko showed Kagami the message.

Kagami’s brows furrowed as he read. “You think Akashi’s information is correct?”

Kuroko paused, considering the question as he switched his phone off to conserve power… and nodded.

“Let’s start getting ready then.” Kagami flashed a semi-grin as he stood up, making Kuroko feel both better and worse at the same time.

(Because, somehow, he managed to look full of life even though he stood in the shadows, caked in dirt, grime and blood – and Kuroko couldn’t help but think of _him,_ and how _he_ always jumped into action too. And maybe it was a blind hope, but as long as he lived, Kuroko didn’t ever want to see any of their lights dim.)

~~~  
Next chapter:  
  
“... _It’s been a trying day.”_  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! My PC needed to be serviced and messed up my schedule :/  
> About this chapter... I'm actually somewhat confused by what I did in it. Ship-teasing everywhere I guess. Or strong friendship. Yep. I also apologise for Aomine's rambly, choppy thoughts and somewhat potty mouth? brain? I have strange headcanons. 
> 
> All that aside, I hope you enjoy the late update anyway. Please do leave comments! They're very motivational :)


	4. What tragedy may bring

_“…It’s been a trying day.”_

~~~

2C.

The view outside was… disturbingly peaceful in its destruction. Surprisingly few cars were on the road, leaving Midorima with an unobstructed view of crushed lampposts and collapsed wooden structures. Or at least, that was all he could see amidst the growing darkness. The _cloud_ , whatever it was, had swallowed up most of the western parts of Kyoto. If the direction of the wind were to change, the three of them would probably get to experience the stifling darkness… whether they wanted to or not.

The car jerked forward from yet another pothole in the road, and it was pure reflex that Midorima managed to reach an arm out to stop the haversacks next to him from falling off. Kashiwaka-san nodded to him through the side rear view mirror, and Midorima returned the gesture in acknowledgement. He was sitting directly behind the driver and diagonally across from Akashi, who had taken the front passenger seat in order to make space for the bags. All three of them had agreed that placing them in the car boot was too risky.

As it was, broadcasts about all that was happening in Japan, China and a majority of the countries in the Eastern Hemisphere were all that there was on the radio channels. Some part of Midorima wondered what the authorities were doing, letting the doomsday prophecies spread fear and terror throughout the general populace. Most of him, however, was… distracted by other concerns.

(His father hadn’t met up with his mother and sister in Tokyo yet; Takao hadn’t answered his call; he had no idea if he’d ever hear _that_ broadcast again and-)

He turned the dial anyway, knowing fully well that between what he hoped for and what he expected, the scales strongly tipped toward the latter. Just like he’d thought, all that crackled out from the speakers was the voice of yet another frantic reporter – if that was what she was meant to be. Her diatribe against something or the other was muffled by the interference, and Midorima couldn’t really care less about such things.

His finger reached out on its own accord, and it was only after Akashi glanced behind and shot Midorima a questioning look that he realised he’d abruptly switched off the radio. Thankfully, Akashi chose not to pursue the matter, instead turning back to re-join his soft discussion with their driver on which route they should take.

Midorima tightened his jaw in self-annoyance. This was no time for him to have less than perfect control of himself. Especially without… He couldn’t help but stiffen as he eyed the knitting needles he’d placed atop the bag right next to him. 

It wasn’t that Midorima was irrational. He knew that the likelihood of there being an _Oha asa_ broadcast at a time like this was near zero. But, he needed his lucky item. He needed to _know_. How was he supposed to do his best and ward off misfortune when he had no clue how he should even begin to go about doing it? Come an hour or so, he might just be putting the lives of those around him in danger. On the other hand, if it was just him…

“You think too much.” Akashi’s voice jarred him from his thoughts and the tense silence that had since settled, punctuated only by the car’s crunching of gravel on the uneven road.

 _That_ sort of statement was utterly out-of-the-blue, and as thankful as Midorima was for the distraction, he let out an amused scoff anyway. “I hardly think that’s a valid accusation, coming from you.”

“Is that so?” The corners of Akashi’s lips twitched (in amusement, probably) as he angled his body toward Midorima. “What do you think is on my mind?”

“Perhaps, one of _those_ dreams or fantasies of conquest.” Midorima said dryly. “The extent of your creativity and imagination is rather astounding.”

(No one needed to know that he hadn’t _actually_ minded listening to descriptions of creepy, surreal nightmares or childhood world domination plans, if that was where their conversations led... which it had, sometimes. With _this_ Akashi, at least.)

For reasons unknown to Midorima, Kashiwaka-san dissolved into a coughing fit. Akashi immediately offered the poor man some water… while shooting Midorima a smirk.

_Oh._

Midorima cleared his throat and redirected his gaze back out of the window.

(He still had no idea how Akashi could act so _normal_ , as if disasters like this were nothing out of the ordinary for him, when it obviously was _._ He was aware that he himself seemed calm, but that was because he was actively _trying_ to, and wasn’t it the slightest bit unfair that Akashi could achieve that – and everything else – so naturally?)

“How about you tell me about yours instead?” Akashi asked suddenly, when the small diversion was done and over.

“What?” Midorima looked up sharply, having been caught off-guard.

“I know for a fact that you have a few tales of your own. Besides, your list was very comprehensive.” Akashi said in a deceptively light tone. Midorima blinked, although he wasn’t surprised. What he did wonder was the reason for which Akashi seemed so interested.

“Could that not be because I actually pay attention to the annual assemblies on public safety and evacuation procedures?” Midorima crossed his arms while he asked.

If this were any of his current teammates, they’d take that as a cue to stop asking. Well, Takao would probably have teased him about being a teacher’s pet and questioned him anyway. Akashi, on the other hand, simply looked unimpressed, which Midorima knew well enough as an indication to continue. It _was_ a good distraction for himself anyway. Besides… he sighed. What was new to be embarrassed about when it came to Akashi?

“…It was more for a zombie apocalypse.” Midorima conceded, wondering for what seemed to be the millionth time since the earthquake if he was dreaming.

He wasn’t quite sure how that had ended up in him narrating his childhood plan for finding and stocking a safe house with makeshift weapons, while Akashi offered his feedback on his choice of arsenal and location. In some way, it really was similar to the real life stocktaking they’d done just hours ago, and Midorima was quite amazed when he realised that they had spent a full forty minutes examining and refining a childish plan that involved Molotov cocktails, pulse guns and high-tech dome shield technology –technology that, to their knowledge, had not yet been invented.

(He was even more surprised that it had been _entertaining_ , even with the grim shadow that hung over them and reminded them that some elements of that fantasy might not remain so.)

This time, they settled into a considerably more comfortable silence, and Midorima actually managed to tear his gaze away from the knitting needles and close his eyes in an attempt to get some rest. He still couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling that this was the calm before the storm. Yet, there was no way he would allow himself to be lost in it. Not before he made sure...

(A whole series of faces flashed before his eyes – and although it was easier _not to_ , he let himself wonder where they were, and what each of them were doing right now.)

~~~

_“Midorima-cchi, you sound like an old man when you say things like that.”_

~~~

2D.

Kise inspected his reflection in his mobile phone’s screen and pulled a few faces, just for the fun of it. Something about fish lips and the mechanic-survivor vibe his already torn and dirty clothes gave off cracked him up, and he felt somewhat better for, like… a second. Basically, up till the whole trapped and helpless situation crashed into him again.

Should he turn his phone off? With the way he was compulsively searching for mobile networks, he might just exhaust his battery. 67%. Why hadn’t he charged it to 100% last night? On the day that he _actually_ needed it… although it wasn’t like he could have known in the morning. If only. _But_ what if the reception suddenly came back for five minutes when his phone was off, and just like that, Kise would lose the only chance he had at asking for help without even knowing it?

…The odds of the mobile networks coming back up in time were near zero, weren’t they? Just like the odds of Momoi having heard his words, or the odds of help of any sort ever coming. But _just in case_ she had. He _needed_ to believe that she had, that someone was coming, that _anyone_ was coming for him – otherwise… _what was the point?_

Kise swallowed. Well, if he left his phone on, it could still act as his only source of light. And it wasn’t like Kise was afraid of – ah, who was he kidding? He turned his head to what was left of his manager and closed his eyes while trying to settle his racing thoughts.

It was getting very cold and dark, and Kise really didn’t want to do it. But he knew he had to. And if he wanted to, he had to do it before – before… the _thought_ of her body decomposing just a few metres away from him already made Kise feel sick to his core. What would he do when it eventually happened?

He didn’t want to think about it.

The thing was, all Kise had brought with him by way of food and drinks were two strawberry yoghurt energy bars. If he ate them bit-by-bit, the bars should be able to last three days or so. Maybe even more, if he rationed it properly and with discipline. But the yoghurt might go bad if he left the packet out in the open anyway, and what if he ended up wasting food or getting food poisoning?

He couldn’t afford to get dehydrated when he didn’t even have a _single_ drop of water.

Kise didn’t have any hardcore survival skills prepared, and with lack of water being his biggest problem, the only solution he could think of right now was searching for it. And that felt _wrong_ , somehow. Disrespectful, yes, but also _gross._ And it might involve violating her… space.

At that thought, Kise actually gave a small laugh, hysterical as it was. She would forgive Kise for that small piece of indignity, right? Well, if it had been him that had died… he probably wouldn’t mind too much if someone were to search him thoroughly and relieve him of his energy bars in order to survive. It was a legitimate reason… right?

If he somehow managed to get out of here, he would give her a burial, somehow. As thanks, or an apology if she really had nothing. He would try, even though, like the others, she had been ready to abandon him too. Kise swallowed the small spike of righteous anger that had risen up in his chest at the thought, and the accompanying guilt from the small jolt of glee that _he_ had survived – he knew he wasn’t the most humble person, but gloating about something like this was beneath him, wasn’t it? Besides… his current status of _alive_ might not last that long if no one was going to help him out.

That disgustingly familiar feeling of _panicanxietywhatif_ rose again, and Kise had to take a few deep breaths to calm himself down again. It was just _so_ quiet. Kise had expected sirens by now, but the entire area seemed to be abandoned. If someone were to tell him that he was alone in the universe right now – _the last human left_ – Kise might just believe it.

He would give almost everything right now to have Aomine in front of him, holding out a bottle of Pocari sweat; or Murasakibara, with his ever-ready supply of snacks and desserts; or even his older sisters or mother or _anyone,_ with _anything_ that could quench thirst or satiate hunger. But what if none of them were even alive anymore? _No._ They had to be. They _must_ be. They were strong. And Kise had said he wouldn’t be outdone…

“All right, let’s do this.” Kise announced loudly, as if doing that steeled his nerves. But it was worth a shot, right? Although, he winced a little at how dry his throat already felt. His stomach was also starting to grumble. At this rate… Kise firmly repressed the thoughts as he stood up and strode purposefully toward the body.

It really only took about four steps before he was already there. He crouched down before her.

( _Blood – bones – eyes – crushed – somuchblood – )_

Kise felt the bile rising up in his throat at the close-up view. It took _everything_ he had to try and be detached, try not to puke, try not to remember all the times they’d talked, or the way her hair used to be brown and not red with congealed _blood_ … He took a few more breaths with his mouth and shifted, only to nudge his knee against something blue and… _leathery?_

Oh. Right. She had a handbag! Why hadn’t he remembered earlier? Then he wouldn’t have had to do half that pointless worrying. With any luck, all that Kise needed was in the bag. Most ladies kept all their belongings in their bags, after all. Feeling better already, Kise quickly grabbed the handbag and just about ran back to his designated corner.

He opened all the zips in a rush, trying to ignore how his fingers were trembling clumsily. Wallet, cosmetics… _bottle_. His heartbeat quickened in anticipation as he pulled it out. It was three-quarters full! Whatever it was... Kise squinted as he tried to recognise the drink label. It wasn’t water. Instead, it seemed to be some brand of sports drink. But that worked too, right?

Kise grinned as he made quick work of wrenching open the bottle cap and taking a sip, savouring the way the cool liquid soothed his throat. He took another mouthful. It was hard resisting the urge of gulping down half of what he had in celebration. This was, maybe, the _first_ thing that had gone his way since everything had happened.

If he’d had his choice, Kise would definitely be out of here by now. But it had been less than a day so far. Just a few hours, really. He’d heard of stories about people being stuck for longer, and surviving… although they were generally older than seventeen. _But_ , now that he’d a little more food and liquid, he could handle this. So what if he was alone? He’d last till help came… _right?_

~~~

_“Kise-chin, aren’t you older?”_

~~~

2E.

Murasakibara usually didn’t mind being the ‘baby’ of his family, without actually being babied. Having four older siblings meant that by the time it was his turn, his parents let him do whatever he wanted. Especially since his two oldest brothers had families of their own, and Murasakibara’s parents were busier chasing those toddlers about. His third oldest brother, Arata, and his older sister, Asuna, probably looked after him more, when he was small. 

_(Usually.)_

Apparently, trying to uproot his entire family to a ‘dangerous region’ was not one of the things his mother was lax about.. He did love his family, but right now he wished that living situation were more like Himuro’s. It must be nice living alone, knowing your family was okay and in another country, and being able to just pack up and go.

Murasakibara had asked his teammate to meet him at his house when he was done preparing. He himself had gone straight home, only to run into Arata, who was also planning to head to the capital for some reason or other. Murasakibara didn’t really care, but Arata was willing to drive Murasakibara and Himuro, which meant that the rest of his family had two cars to work with. And since Asuna was studying in England, that was more than enough. So, as far as Murasakibara was concerned, everything was planned and done.

Except, his mother didn’t think so.

“Arata, I won’t have you going to Tokyo just to find that _woman_!” Murasakibara’s mother insisted, with her hands on her hip. This was the most agitated he’d ever seen her. “And what were you thinking, dragging Atsushi along with you?”

Murasakibara frowned, and was about to deny that fact when Arata shook his head, slightly. He looked very frustrated, which was never good. “Atsushi, why don’t you get our stuff in there first?”

Murasakibara thought he’d rather do that too. So, he did. Arata had actually done most of the packing for the stuff that would be helpful to everyone, anyway. Or maybe their family had long prepared the packs. He wasn’t very sure.

He heard more shouting coming from inside, but he didn’t really want to know the details. Instead, he spent the time waiting for Himuro and his brother by counting the number of packets of snacks he’d managed to get and estimating how long they’d last.

By the time Arata came out, he’d already stuffed everything else into the car boot, and he’d finished his count.

“What did you tell her?” Murasakibara asked.

“More like she told me to leave. But don’t worry, our father and lovely nii-san will know how to take care of her.” Arata said (hissed). That was probably true. Murasakibara watched as he kicked the garage wall twice, winced, squeezed his eyes shut… and slowly calmed down. It was all somewhat familiar.

“Sorry about that.” Arata said, after a few seconds. “Your friend’s coming, right?”

“Yeah.” Murasakibara saw the faint shape of Himuro approaching, and gestured in the direction.

Arata followed his gaze and blinked. “Well, okay then. I guess I’ll just go get the engine started.”

Murasakibara waved Himuro over, and threw his house one last glance. He could see the faint shape of his mother before the curtains abruptly closed. Murasakibara somehow felt like he was in a family drama, which was… sad. But it wasn’t like he could do anything. And that made him angry, too. Why was everything made so complicated? And why did all of _this_ have to happen anyway?

He took out the packet of Nerunerunerune grape candy he’d kept in his pocket and opened it viciously. (He made sure nothing was wasted, though.)

~~~  
Next chapter: 

_“Yeah. Older… and more immature.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the really, really long wait! This chapter ended up being quite slow-paced, but I guess it's a break considering there'll be more action... soon. 
> 
> (I wish I actually knew how stoic tsunderes think. I also wish that more details were given on their families.)
> 
> Please leave your feedback and comments!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure if any of this seems slightly OOC for any of them, but high stress situations!! And we already know how Aomine is protective of Kise and Kuroko…
> 
> Please do leave some feedback/comments! It would be very motivational…


End file.
